Of course markets have rejected “preposterous” forward guidance August 30, 2013 While forward guidance has become incredibly fashionable among central bankers, with the Bank of England and European Central Bank adopting the tool, many claim that it is bunkum. Economist Detlev Schlichter is one of those, and strongly disagrees with the notion that new Bank of England governor should be called one the "most talented central [...]
London councils lead the table for parking fines August 30, 2013 Total parking fines have now risen to £884m in 2011, up nearly 10 per cent from total council income from these fines in 2008. Data obtained by the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) from a Freedom of Information (FOI) requests shows that East Yorkshire received the least income from motorist fines. Yet London and Thames [...]
Goldman slashes US GDP forecast on weak income and spending data August 30, 2013 Goldman Sachs has cut its third quarter US GDP forecast from 1.7 per cent to 1.5 per cent after the release of weak data. US personal incomes grew by just 0.1 in July, economists had expected an increase of 0.2 per cent, matching last month's increase. Spending grew at the same 0.1 per cent rate, [...]
When is a euro not a euro? When it’s in Cyprus August 30, 2013 Capital controls in Cyprus have been renewed for a further 28 days. These "temporary" controls were introduced in March. Authorities then said that they may last as little as a week. The sceptics disagreed, and 155 days later, they're still in place. It's a similar situation to the one in Iceland, where "temporary" controls have [...]
The Eurozone is seeing a no-inflation recovery August 30, 2013 Berenberg's Christian Schulz says that the Eurozone is now witnessing a "no-inflation recovery" on the back of strong confidence numbers released this morning. The Eurozone unemployment rate stayed at 12.1% in July. The stable headline rate conceals a second successive monthly fall in the number of unemployed. Whether that fall can last into the autumn [...]
Eurozone confidence thumps forecasts despite stagnant unemployment August 30, 2013 Eurozone consumer confidence has come in very strong in August, with the main indicator at a healthier -16 from -17.4 (-16.5 expected). That's despite a flat unemployment rate posted for the same month. Economic sentiment too looked decidedly better, rising from 92.5 to 95.2 (93.0 expected). Business climate is up to -0.2 from -0.53 (-0.35 [...]
Mortgage approvals up as Help to Bubble scheme takes effect August 30, 2013 UK mortgage approvals have come in above analyst estimates, at 60,624 in July. Economists had predicted a jump to 59,000 from 57,667 the month before. The government's Help to Buy scheme, only one part of which is now active, has prompted higher demand in the housing sector. But for all that mortgage help, nothing has [...]
Before the open – 30/08 August 30, 2013 It's the last trading day of the month – and it looks the FTSE will close down this August. The index closed at 6621.10 on 31 July, and saw its monthly peak the next day at 6682.00. Opening at 6483.05, it seems very unlikely that anything dramatic will happening on what looks to be a [...]
German retail sales continue their decline August 30, 2013 German retail sales have dropped again, down 1.4 per cent in July after a 0.8 per cent contraction last month (revised up from -1.5 per cent). Economists had predicted an end to the decline and 0.5 per cent growth this month. Total retail sales growth in the year to July now stands at 2.3 per [...]
House prices continue to rise on Help to Buy scheme August 30, 2013 House prices are up again in August, by 0.6 per cent. That's in line with analyst predictions, and slightly lower than last month's 0.9 per cent growth (release). Nationwide's figures are provided on a seasonally adjusted basis, while nominal average house prices have actually dropped slightly, down from £170,825 to £170,514. £311 isn't a discount [...]
